Transcending Space & Time
by AznTigress
Summary: The members of S.T.I.G.M.A.T.A. are transported to the world of Naruto where things are not always what they seem. Will they find a way back to their world? A perfect story for people new to the Anime. FRIENDFIC
1. Changing Worlds

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_ or its characters.

**A/N:** If you're not a friend of mine, the Original Characters of this story will not be familiar to you. To learn more about the group known as S.T.I.G.M.A.T.A., go to my original story website at FictionPress. (The link is in my author profile.)

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**Chapter 1: Changing Worlds**

It was another monotonous day at UCI. Brushing some of her black brown bangs from her eyes, Tracy yawns as she sat in one of her daily lectures. She stirs irritably in her seat as the professor before her spoke of meiosis, mitosis, and other biology nonsense she had already learned back in high school.

After class ended, Tracy files out of the lecture hall along with the other students like a herd of bison. It has been like this since she started college and that was about three months ago. Annoyed by the surroundings that had already become boring to her, Tracy saunters back to her dorm thinking of what would happen if she lived in an Anime world instead of this uninteresting real world. As she nears the crosswalk that would take her back to her dorm, her cell phone vibrates in her pocket. Curious as to who could be calling her in this time of day, Tracy picks it up to hear a familiar voice she hadn't heard in a while.

"Hey Tracy!" greets her friend, Stephanie.

"What's up?" Tracy greets back.

"Hey, do you have any more classes today?" asks Stephanie.

"Nope; I just left my last class of the day," answers Tracy.

"Oh, okay then!" responds Stephanie.

With that, Stephanie hung up, leaving Tracy in the dark.

_What could she be planning?_ thought the Asian girl.

Ten minutes later, Tracy reaches her dorm and enters the entrance door with her key. Going up to her dorm room, she thought she heard a suspicious noise and puts her guard up. She saw no one as she went to the locked door of her dorm room. Turning the key into the lock, Tracy opens the door to find several pairs of hands reach out to her and bring her in.

"What the hell?" she exclaims in surprise.

"Surprise!"

All of her friends were there in the double occupancy dorm room. Among them were Stephanie, Jon, Bao, Lawrence, Robert, Kevin, Caroline, and her friend and roommate Priscilla.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tracy wonders out loud.

"We're here to visit you silly," answers Caroline with a grin.

"You guys," began Tracy.

It was not the group of friends before her that surprised her; those guys are always up for things like this. What surprised Tracy the most was the fact that Lawrence and Kevin were among the participants. She had known Kevin since the two of them were in the first grade back in elementary school but she had never really talked to him all that much. As for Lawrence, she never even expected him to come period, for he had not only been one of her closest friends, if not her best friend, but he had also been her boyfriend. At least for a short while, before he broke up with her and stopped talking to her altogether. She never really understood why he decided to sever all ties with her, but she had accepted it and moved on. And now here, on this day, there he was, right in front of her.

"I'm guessing you guys are not just here to visit me, are you?" asks Tracy.

"Well," began Caroline. "We figured since it IS a Friday…"

"We wanted to take you camping with use," finishes Stephanie.

"Camping?" repeated Tracy.

"Yeah," replies Jon.

"Priss told us that you've never been camping before so we decided to take you to your very first campout," explains Bao.

Tracy looks over at Priscilla who smiles in response.

"I don't know what to say," utters Tracy in shock.

"Don't say anything," said Caroline. "Just hurry up and pack. We'll be waiting in the parking lot."

With a nod, Tracy went to her closet and drawers as everyone except Priscilla files out of the room.

As the two roommates packed, Tracy pauses in the middle of folding a t-shirt to look over at Priscilla.

"Thanks, Priss," she said to her.

"No problem," replies Priscilla. "Just promise me you'll have fun."

"I will," answers Tracy with a smile.

Once all set, the group herds into Bao's and Kevin's vehicles and they were off. Riding in Bao's car with Stephanie, Caroline, and Priscilla, Tracy looks out the window and watches the world pass her by. It was strange; even though she felt ecstatic and happy that her friends are with her, another part of her felt something entirely different. If there was a word to describe it, it would be close to disgust. But why would she feel something like that for? She was with her friends and that was all that mattered.

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Once they reached the campgrounds, the group disperses to set up camp. As the boys set up the tent, the girls went to unpack the vehicles. After they were done, the group stood to look at their disheveled campsite and laughs at its messiness. Just then, a couple of hikers were passing by. Not letting the opportunity pass them by, the group asks the hikers if they could take group pictures of them. When the hikers answer positively, the group gave them all their cameras and the next ten minutes was spent taking group pictures with everyone's camera. With that done, the college kids settle into their weekend retreat.

Wanting to check out the river, Tracy separates from the group and began walking on her own. Once she reaches the steady flow of water, she sits down at the river's edge and puts her hand into the cool liquid. Flicking the water off of her hand, Tracy brushes some hair out of her face and stares at her reflection in the water. She felt weird, looking at her reflection like this.

She hears a noise and turns to find a spiked orange-haired Asian wearing glasses approach her.

"Hey Lawrence," she greets him.

"Hey," replies Lawrence hesitantly.

"What are you doing here?" Tracy asks him.

"Just wanted to see what you were doing," he answers her.

"Don't worry; I don't plan to commit suicide," assures Tracy.

"I… What?" stutters Lawrence.

"That's what you were thinking, weren't you?" said Tracy. "You wouldn't come all this way for no reason."

"No," responds the boy, trying to find an explanation.

Rolling her eyes, Tracy looks back at her reflection to find something that surprised her with shock. Suddenly, the world around them became blurry as the landscape began morphing. Back at the campsite, the group was seeing the same thing.

"What's going on?" exclaims Jon.

"I don't know," answers Bao.

"I think I'm going to be sick," adds Kevin.

In seconds, they all went unconscious.


	2. New Surroundings

**Chapter 2: New Surroundings**

Tracy awoke to a bright light hitting her face. She sat up to find Lawrence unconscious a few feet away. Worried, she approaches him but pauses suddenly due to a strange sensation on her face. She reaches up to her forehead to find something smooth and metallic there. She looks down at herself to find that she was wearing clothing that she had designed for a _Naruto_ character she made up. Taking off the forehead protector she was wearing, she saw to her disappointment that her symbol for her made-up hidden village was not there. In its place was the symbol for the Hidden Village of Leaf. With a sigh, she ties it back to her forehead and crawls over to her fallen friend to wake him up.

"Lawrence? Hey Lawrence?" she spoke to him.

The boy's eyes fluttered a bit before opening fully. He sits up to see his friend wear a strange outfit consisting of a familiar white t-shirt jacket he's often seen her wear, worn over a black tank top. She also wore a pair of black pants with something blue wrapped around her right leg and some kind of brown pack on her left side. At her waist was a pair of _kodachis_ tied to it and on her hands was the black rollerblading hand guards she modified to look and feel like a pair of gauntlets. But it looked different this time, for it had two pieces of metal on each one. On her feet were some strange blue shoes that exposed her toes.

"Are you okay?" Tracy asks him.

"Define okay," responds Lawrence. "What the heck are you wearing?"

"You should take a look at yourself before asking that," retorts Tracy.

Lawrence looks down at himself to see that he was also sporting the same kind of shoes and headband she was wearing. But that was where the similarities ended, for on his upper body he wore a black see-through net shirt and a strange short greenish jacket over it with the sleeves up to his arms like t-shirt sleeves. He wore black pants similar to Tracy's, with the blue pack wrapped around his right leg like her. On his wrists were black wristbands that looked just like the gothic wristbands he owned at home, the metal gleaming in the sunlight.

"What the hell?" he exclaims in surprise.

Even from the mysterious change of clothes that both of them had gone through, there was one thing that filled their eyes and hearts with pure shock: they were both back to being twelve years old!

They dash over to the river to see their reflections confirm the impossible. They were indeed twelve years old in appearance, but not in mind. Lawrence's yellow-dyed hair was back to being its original short black hair brushed to one side, while Tracy's hair had become as long as it was the day the two of them met for the first time back in seventh grade.

"From the looks of things, it would seem we've been transported to the world of _Naruto_," affirms Tracy, looking around. "And since most of the main ninjas in the series _are_ underage, it appears we've been aged down to our preteen age in order to fit in."

Lawrence looks around to find that the two of them were in a forest that was very much different than the one they were in a few minutes ago.

"_Naruto_?" he repeats.

"You're not familiar with it since you don't watch Anime," clarifies Tracy.

"What the hell are we doing in an Anime world?" he asks. "And why are we young again?"

"How am I supposed to know?" the girl responds back upsettingly. "It's not like I wanted this to happen."

"What do we do now?" wonders Lawrence.

"Look for the others I guess," answers Tracy.

"How do we even know if they were transported too?" retorts Lawrence.

"I just have a hunch," replies Tracy.

"And how can we trust your hunch?" responds Lawrence.

"Fine, you can stay here then," replies Tracy angrily. "Slap your heels together and say 'there's no place like home' three times."

With that, she gets up heads off in one direction. Not wanting to be left all alone in a world he's not familiar with, Lawrence stumbles to his feet and follows his friend.

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Stephanie awakens to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight on her face. She sits up to find herself in a strange forest.

"What the heck?" she exclaims upon seeing her friends scattered around her.

She looks down at herself to find herself wearing a pair of blue pants with a pair of blue shoes that exposed her toes. On her right thigh was a blue pack and white strips wrapped around it. On her upper body was a blue tank top with wide white strips of cloth wrapped around her waist. With the forehead protector to complete the outfit, Stephanie makes a quite cute _kunoichi_.

"This reminds me of _Naruto_," she said to herself.

She crawls over to her friends to wake them up.

"Priscilla, Caroline," she exclaims.

The two girls awoke from their sudden slumber, as do the boys. They were all wearing the same blue pack on their strong arm's side, a light brown pack on their other side, blue shoes that exposed the toes, and the Hidden Village of Leaf forehead protectors. But that was where all the similarities ended, for each wore a different ninja outfit.

Caroline wore a cerulean-colored dress that somewhat resembled that of Haruno Sakura of _Naruto_. Underneath, she wore a pair of skintight black shorts with the blue pack on her right thigh and the light brown pack on her left side. Jon wore the same outfit as Nara Shikamaru, except his short vest was a lot greener than the animated _genin's_. Kevin simply had on a pair of dark brown pants and matching see-through net t-shirt. Bao looked lankier than usual with his outfit consisting of a pair of ankle-high brown pants and off-white t-shirt along with blue wristbands and his usual glasses. Priscilla's outfit was extremely similar, if not the same, as Hyuuga Hinata, with the jacket being a light grey and a lot more fitting than the make-believe _kunoichi_. Robert actually had on the outfit he designed for his fiction, whichconsisted ofa black t-shirt and dark brown shorts with the addition of his katars. Despite those with resemblances to actual _Naruto_ characters, all seven of them wore their forehead protectors on their foreheads and nowhere else.

Everyone looks at each other and immediately notes an evenbigger change than their clothes: they were all twelve years old again!

"Whoa, déjà vu," exclaims Caroline.

"Hey Kevin doesn't look different at all!" notes Stephanie with a giggle.

"This feels weird," notes Priscilla, lifting her hands to take off the headband.

"Wait, don't do that!" Stephanie stops her.

"Why?" she asks.

"We don't know what's going to happen; it'll be better if you keep that on just in case we get attacked," explains Stephanie.

"Attacked?" exclaims Jon with shock. "Attacked by what?"

"I'm not sure," replies Stephanie. "In _Naruto_, ninjas can hide just about anywhere. And to add to the situation, we don't even know where we are."

"Wait a sec," spoke up Caroline. "Something looks familiar."

The black-haired Asian girl gets up and dashes off in one direction.

"Caroline, come back!" Bao shouts after her.

Left with no choice, the group follows after the girl through the forest. They eventually see a bright light ahead of them and run unknowingly into it. They ended up on a dirt road where they found their friend looking down one end of it.

"What is it Caroline?" wonders Robert.

Caroline takes her glasses off to wipe them with her clothes and puts it back on to make sure she was really seeing what she thought she was seeing. The group looks with her in the direction she was gazing at and sure enough a few meters before them was a huge gate leading into a strangely built village.

"What's that?" asks Kevin.

"Is that what I think it is?" wonders Stephanie.

"Yep," answers Caroline. "Konohagakure. Hidden Village of Leaf."


	3. A Lesson In Chakra Usage

**Chapter 3: A Lesson In Chakra Usage**

The sounds of strange animals fill the air as Tracy and Lawrence navigated through the dark forest they were in. Gigantic trees were everywhere, hiding creatures in its dark crevices. Lawrence stays nervously close to his friend, who seemed to show no fear to their unknown surroundings whatsoever.

_How can she not be scared shitless of this situation we're in?_ he wonders to himself.

Suddenly, Tracy spots bright light up ahead and breaks into a dash with Lawrence following behind her. They run into an area lit with warm sunlight and breath sighs of relief to know they were literally out of the woods.

"Ah shit."

Lawrence turns to his friend who had just cursed in a tone that wasn't too comforting.

"What is it?" he asks her.

He looks over to what Tracy was staring at and his eyes widen in shock. Before them was a strongly-built fence with five lines of barbed wire lining the top. On the outside of the fence were wooden signs, which gave the two of them a feeling that they most likely had warnings written on them.

"I guess all we've gotta do is just follow the fence to a gate, right?" inquires Lawrence.

"Wrong," answers Tracy. "This is bad."

"What do you mean?" asks Lawrence.

"If I'm right, which I'm really sure I am, we've been transported into _Shi no Mori_," replies Tracy ominously.

"What's _Shi no Mori_?" Lawrence asks hesitantly, afraid of what the answer might be.

Tracy looks at him with fearful eyes.

"Forest of Death," she answers.

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Stephanie and the others head into Konoha hoping that they would blend in with their new clothes and younger age. Unfortunately, the villagers gave them strange looks when they came in, adding anxiety their situation even more.

"Why are they looking at us?" Kevin asks through clenched teeth.

"Well, the fact that we're traveling in a huge-ass group might have something to do with it," responds Jon.

"That plus the only ninjas at our supposed level who travel in a group like us are the main ninjas in _Naruto,_" adds Stephanie.

"Should we split up?" asks Caroline.

"It's too late now," replies Bao. "We've already been noticed."

The group walked on as if nothing happened, heading in the direction of the hot springs where they hopefully will be less noticeable. To their chagrin, three little kids wearing green goggles on their heads had begun following them around when they stepped into the village. They were most interested in Bao and Robert, who both had particularly brown skin and really stood out from the group.

"Ah, fuck," curses Robert, turning around to face the children. "What do you want?"

"Hi," said the one with brown hair that stood up on end. "You have weird skin."

"What do you mean?" Robert asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You're skin's brown," said the little girl in the group.

"You're wrong," said Robert. He points to a black spot on his skin. "This is the real color of my skin. The rest is a birthmark."

"Wow," exclaimed the three kids in awe.

"You've got the biggest birthmark we've ever seen," said the sniffling kid with glasses.

"Great Robert," spoke up Jon sarcastically. "We're supposed to lose them, not make them more interested."

"My name's Konohamaru," introduced the boy with the standing brown hair.

"I'm Moegi," said the girl.

"And I'm Udon," greeted the second boy with glasses.

"Oh, I thought they looked familiar," comments Caroline.

"Well, it was nice meeting you kids," said Robert. "Now scram!"

"Do you guys live here?" asks Moegi, noticing the group's forehead protectors. "I've never seen you guys around before."

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that too," adds Udon. "Which part of the village do you guys live in?"

"Uh," began Stephanie nervously.

"I wish Tracy was here," utters Priscilla. "She'd know what to say."

Suddenly, a huge red frog appears behind the group. The preteens turn around to find an old man with long white spiky hair and a strange personality.

"Ah, are these new _genins_?" he wonders. "I wasn't aware we had a graduation ceremony recently."

"Who is this guy?" Kevin whispers to Stephanie.

"_Ero-Sennin_," utters Caroline. "Perverted Hermit."

"EH?" exclaims the man. "The only person who ever dared to call me that is a blonde _genin_ known by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. I've never met any of you before. How do you know my secret nickname?"

The group gulps in nervousness as the old man looks down on them from the top of his summoned frog.

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"Hurry up!" Tracy yells at the boy behind her as she ran.

"That's easy for you to say!" replied Lawrence. "You're ass isn't close to this thing's mouth!"

The two preteens were running desperately from a huge centipede crawling quickly after them. Just then, the grassy pathway ended at the trunk of a giant tree creating a natural dead end. Surprise at the sudden end to their escape, all Tracy and Lawrence could do ishalt at the roots and turn around to see the carnivorous centipede closing in on them fast. Lawrence looks over at the girl who was shaking with fear.

_She's scared out of her mind_, he thought. _I've gotta do something_.

He takes out a _kunai_ just as the centipede is upon them. Before he could even move a muscle, a blur of black shot up at the giant insect and hacks off one of its main mandibles. The blur lands in front of the creature and a familiar figure stood there. The figure was none other than Tracy, who was just by his side a few seconds ago.

"What the?" exclaims Lawrence, blinking in disbelief. "First she's scared shitless and now she's fighting as if she's been training her whole life for this."

Roaring in pain, the centipede slams its head down on Tracy, who leaps quickly out of the way. Taking out a set of _kunais_, the girl focuses her attention on the creature's head and shoots her weapons accurately on certain spots on the head. Lawrence watches as the monster falls to the ground, its blood oozing out of the wounds inflicted upon its head.

Tracy lands a few feet in front of Lawrence, shaking tensely and breathing heavily. Summoning up what was left of her strength, the girl turns around to walk back to her friend.

"What was that all about?" asks Lawrence. "I thought you were so scared you couldn't move."

"I forced myself to be scared on purpose," answers Tracy.

"On purpose?" repeats Lawrence. "Why would you do that?"

"You don't know much about the human body, do you?" inquires Tracy.

"What do you mean?" questioned the boy curiously.

"When a person feels truly afraid, the body reacts by producing adrenaline," explains the girl. "Adrenaline is a liquid substance that gives your body an extra boost of energy so it would be able to run from danger. That's a natural survival function that exists in all creatures, including humans. Knowing this, I learned to force myself to be scared when I need to so I can use the energy to fight. Of course, the effects of adrenaline are only temporary so that's why I killed the centipede as fast as I did."

"Don't you have anything better to do in your spare time?" wonders Lawrence.

"Hey," exclaims Tracy. "I just saved our butts with that information so you watch your mouth."

Lawrence was struck speechless by her response. Perhaps Tracy has been making better use of her time than he has. Then again…

"Even with adrenaline, you couldn't possibly have that much energy to jump up as high as you did," he notes. "How much have you been training yourself?"

Tracy sighs in exasperation. Now that they were out of danger, she figures she could spend the time explaining the aspects of the world of _Naruto_.

"You'd better sit down," she tells him. "This is going to take a while."

The two of them finds a safe place to sit down at and Tracy starts her explanation.

"Okay," she began. "First off, you know about life energy, right?"

"Life energy?" repeats Lawrence.

"The Chinese call it _chi_, the Japanese call it _ki_, and the Indians call it _chakra_," affirms Tracy. "Call it whatever you want, it's all the same thing."

"Ooh-kay," responds Lawrence.

"Now, in the world of _Naruto_, life energy is referred to as Chakra," explains the girl. "Everyone has it but only ninjas, or _shinobis_, know how to use it to their advantage."

"Uh-huh," responds Lawrence.

"When Chakra is combined with spiritual energy and a combination of hand seals, the result is a _jutsu_, a technique," continued Tracy.

"What are hand seals?" inquires the boy.

"Hand seals are hand positions that are based off the twelve animals of the zodiac," answers Tracy. "Each technique uses a different combination of hand seals in order to be performed."

"Okay," affirms Lawrence.

"Now that you know that, you understand where my extra energy comes from, right?" asks Tracy.

"Yeah I guess," answers Lawrence. "But how did you learn to how tap into your Chakra so quickly?"

"Your Chakra is the same as your physical energy," explains Tracy. "Just train your body to be stronger and you'll tap into your Chakra easier. Since I took some martial arts, I'm pretty experienced with tapping into my energy."

"I see," comments Lawrence, blowing some of his hair out of his face.

"Lemme fix that," said Tracy, walking over to the boy.

She takes her hand and brushes the boy's long short hair back. Then she parts the strands evenly, exposing a nice line of skin from the center of his forehead to the back of his head. Lawrence shakes his head a bit, noticing how his new hairstyle doesn't fall into his face like his old one did.

"Much better," notes Tracy, seeing how her friend now resembles the glasses-wearing Yakushi Kabuto.

She gets up to her feet and looks up at the huge tree they were sitting under. Curious, she focuses some of her Chakra on the bottom of her feet. She then put one foot on the tree trunk and then began walking slowly up the tree, trying to keep the amount of Chakra constant. Lawrence watches in disblief as his friend walked up the tree as if she had glue on the soles of her feet.

"How did you do that?" he asks her.

"Just focus some Chakra onto the bottom of your feet and step on the trunk," Tracy shouts down at him.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" he wonders to himself. He closes his eyes and relaxes his body. "Maybe if I imagine energy on the bottom of my feet…"

He opens his eyes and places one foot on the tree trunk. Feeling it stick, he places his other foot on the trunk and slowly began walking up the tree. Suddenly, one of his feet slips and he falls to the ground flat on his back with a groan.

"Are you okay?" Tracy yells down at him.

"I wonder," Lawrence mutters to himself irritated.

Tracy leaps down and lands next to the boy.

"Why can you do it and I can't?" he asks her.

"You're just not familiar with your body, that's all," replies Tracy.

"How am I not familiar with my body?" inquires the boy. "I've been using it since the day I was born!"

"I mean that you don't know how to use it to the fullest," clarifies the girl.

The both of them get to their feet and looks at one another.

"So how do we get out of here?" Lawrence wonders.

"We just have to get to the tower in the middle of the forest," answers Tracy.

She climbs up the tree using her Chakra and grabs hold of the highest branch. Using this as her vantage point, she scans the forest looking for any manmade structures. She eventually finds the red tower she'd seen when watching the Chuunin Arc of the Anime series.

"Over there!" she shouts and points in one direction.

She climbs down the tree and head in the direction of the tower with Lawrence by her side.

"So what do we do when we get there?" asks the boy.

"Hopefully there'll be someone there who'll take us out of this crazy place," replies the girl. "Once we're out of here, we'll go look for the others."

"Sounds like a plan," comments Lawrence.

Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious figure is watching from afar, high up in the darkest parts of the trees.


	4. A Dangerous Situation

**Chapter 4: A Dangerous Situation**

"So the seven of you are from another world?" asks Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.

Simultaneous nods from the group of children before her answers her question.

"Can you guys send us back?" wonders Jon. "I'd really like to finish the rest of our camping trip back in our world."

"We would if we could," replies Jiraiya, the Perverted Hermit. "But if we can't figure out how you guys got here in the first place, there's nothing we could do."

Seven heads hung in disappointed exasperation.

"However, this does sound like something Orochimaru would pull," notes Tsunade. "But without hard evidence, we really can't put the blame on him. This is a confusing situation indeed."

"Are there any more of you or is this all that came?" inquires Jiraiya.

"Well, we're not sure, but we think two of our friends were transported as well," answers Caroline.

"Why aren't they with you?" asks Tsunade.

"We got separated before we were transported," replies Bao.

"How do you know your other two friends aren't still in your world?" asks Jiraiya.

"We all have the feeling they're here too," answers Stephanie.

"Well, unless they were transported close by, I highly doubt we'll be able to find them," notes Tsunade. "This world of ours is pretty big. Who knows where they were transported to."

"I'm still curious about the forehead protectors you're all wearing," said Jiraiya. "Could there be a particular reason you were all sent here of all places?"

"If there is one, we don't know about it," responds Jon.

"I see," said Jiraiya. "Well then, in the meantime, we'll place you all in a couple of available apartments for the time being. Doesn't look like you'll be going anywhere for a while so you might as well settle in for the long run."

"Allright then," responds Caroline.

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Night fell in the Forest of Death and Tracy and Lawrence were no closer to the tower than they were that afternoon.

"Damn it," curses Lawrence as he ran. "It looks as if it's right in front of us, but we're not getting any closer at all."

"Wait a minute," spoke up Tracy.

The two of them stop in their tracks. Tracy puts her hands together to form a seal and closes her eyes. She then opens them again with a shout.

"_Kai_! (Dispel!)"

With that done, she ran towards the tower, which became closer and closer.

"What was that all about back there?" wonders Lawrence as he follows her.

"We were trapped in a _genjutsu_ back there," replies Tracy.

"What's that?" asks Lawrence.

"A _genjutsu_ is an illusionary technique," answers Tracy. "Ninjas in the _Naruto_ world use _genjutsus_ to fool their opponents or even defeat them in battle. Getting stuck in one could be either annoying or deadly."

"Deadly?" exclaims Lawrence.

By later in the evening, the two kids were halfway towards the tower. They stop to rest under the strong roots of a giant tree for the night. As the two lay there side by side, Lawrence spoke up.

"So, is there any other _jutsus_ that I have to worry about?" he asks.

"_Jutsus_ come in three different kinds: _genjutsu_, which are illusionary techniques; _taijutsu_, which are hand-to-hand combat techniques; and _ninjutsu_, which are ninja techniques," explains Tracy. "Each different kind of _jutsu_ uses up a certain amount of Chakra, depending on their effectiveness and power. _Taijutsus_ uses the least amount of Chakra because they rely mainly on your physical strength. _Ninjutsus_ tend to use up a lot of Chakra because they're like spells; some can be defensive and some can be offensive. _Genjutsus_ fall somewhere around the middle; the effectiveness depends on how much Chakra you use. The more Chakra you use, the more effective the _genjutsu_."

"Interesting," comments Lawrence. "Do you know any _jutsus_?"

" Just a few," answers Tracy. "I don't know any that requires a long combination of hand seals. Those kinds of _jutsus_ are usually the strongest kind."

"I see," understood the boy. "Can you teach me some?"

"If you want," replies the girl, rolling over to her side and showing her back to the boy. "I'll show you a few in the morning."

About two hours into the dead of night, Tracy awoke to vibrations on the ground. She turns over to find Lawrence shivering beside her. Without a thought, she takes off her t-shirt jacket and drapes it over the boy who began shivering a lot less than before. Sitting up, she looks up at the moon overhead which was bright and full.

"This place looks and feels a lot different than back home," she said to herself. "I think I'm gonna like it here."

Suddenly, she hears a rustling of leaves not far from where they were. She takes out a _kodachi_ and cautiously steps towards the source of the noise. She comes upon a bush which was shaking strangely. Preparing herself for an ambush, Tracy stood there with _kodachi_ drawn and body tense. The bush stops shaking and out came a rabbit hopping out of the foliage. Feeling ridiculous, Tracy breathes a sigh of relief and began walking back to the tree trunk roots where Lawrence had woken up and was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What is it?" he asks her.

"Just a rabbit, nothing to worry about," she assures him.

Just before she could reach Lawrence, a dark figure lands in between them. Surprised, Tracy takes out her other _kodachi_ and goes into an attack stance.

"Who are you?" she demands forcefully.

"I've been watching you for quite a while," said the figure with its head hanging. It slowly brought its head up to the light of the moon, revealing a very familiar face. "Tracy-_chan_."

A chill ran down the girl's spine upon realizing who it was that was standing in front of her.

"Orochimaru," she utters in a low voice.

"Ah, so you _have_ heard of me," responds the evil Sannin.

"Tracy, who is this guy?" asks Lawrence.

"Lawrence, stay there!" warns the girl. "This guy is really dangerous. Don't move a muscle."

"You're not from around here, are you?" asks Orochimaru, licking his lips with his long tongue. "Very interesting."

_If I don't do something, he could kill us_, thought Tracy.

Forcing herself to be as scared as she possibly can, she dashes at the powerful ninja. She could feel the adrenaline rush through her blood as she strikes quickly with her right _kodachi_. She gasps in surprise to see her attack instantly blocked by the man's arm.

"You've got fire," he says out loud. "I like that."

With a thrust of his arm, Orochimaru sends the girl flying back into the huge root of a tree.

"Tracy!" Lawrence yells out with worry.

He runs at the old man with _kunais_ drawn. Before he could even get close, Orochimaru spins around and whips the boy into another huge tree root. The boy's body slams into the root hard, cracking its surface.

"Lawrence," Tracy groans as she tries to get up. "I'm going to kill you, Orochimaru."

With a chuckle, Orochimaru shoots out a couple of snakes out of his sleeves at the girl. Gripping her _kodachis_ tightly, Tracy deflects the creatures with whatever strength she had left. Before she even had time to take a breath, Orochimaru extends his neck and bites hard into the nape of the girl's neck. Tracy's eyes went opened wide as searing pain spreads through her upper body.

Lawrence forces his eyes open upon hearing the painful screams of his friend. Summoning all the strength he had, he got up off the ground to see the evil Sannin biting into his friend's shoulder.

"You bastard!" he cries out as he ran towards the man with _kunais_ in hand.

Orochimaru manages to finish his technique and jump away before the flying _kunais_ flew out of the boy's hand straight at him.

"We'll be meeting each other again, Tracy-_chan_," Orochimaru yells out before disappearing into the darkness of the treetops.

With the evil Sannin out of sight, Lawrence puts his focus on his friend, who had fallen to the ground clutching her shoulder and yelling out in pain.

"Tracy, are you allright?" he asks her with heavy concern.

He pulls her hand away in time to see a strange bruise form near the bite marks. It slowly morphed into what looked like the dark half of the yin-yang symbol.

"What the hell is this?" he wonders out loud.

"D-don't worry about it," groans Tracy. "It's just a little bruise, that's all."

"This doesn't look like a bruise," noted Lawrence.

"Lawrence," said Tracy. "I need you to make me a promise."

"What do you mean?" asks the boy.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"Why?"

"Because, Steph and the others are going to think I got a hickey. I don't want anyone making fun of me."

"But Tracy… This looks serious."

"Promise me!"

Lawrence looks at her with worried eyes. He hadn't been the greatest of friends to her lately and he felt bad not being able to do anything while she'd fought on with determination.

"Allright," he tells her. "I promise."

"Thank you," she responds before falling unconscious into his arms.

"Tracy?" he exclaims in surprise.

He felt her forehead with his hand, which was burning up hot. Utterly worried, he takes her back to the tree roots they had been sleeping under and puts her t-shirt jacket back on her. He then takes off her forehead protector and lays the cold metal side down on her forehead.

"Don't die on me," he tells her. "Or I won't keep my promise."


	5. Reunion

**Chapter 5: Reunion**

Stephanie awoke to find herself in a dimly lit room. Her eyes flutter for a few seconds before opening fully for her to see.

"Where am I?" she groans as she sat up.

Looking around, she remembers the apartment that Jiraiya and Tsunade-_sama_ had given to her and her friends to stay in. Scattered around her were Caroline and Priscilla, both of them still fast asleep. All three of them had slept on separate floor pads and blankets so their first night in their very first apartment was not so bad. They were also each given a pair of pajamas, as well as the boys, so settling into their new home away from home was a bit easier to do.

Trying not to disturb her roommates, Stephanie quietly gets up and maneuvers over to the window to open it up. Lifting the wooden board, Stephanie puts the wooden stake in place to keep it open, allowing fresh air and some sunlight to enter the room. After brushing her hair, she changes into her ninja outfit and ventures outside into the unknown. Using her Chakra, she leaps up onto the rooftop and walks around to find Bao in his ninja outfit sitting. Curious, she saunters over to the boy and sits down beside him.

"_Ohayou_," greets Bao with a yawn.

"_Ohayou_," Stephanie greets back with a small smile.

"What are you doing up?" wonders Bao.

"I couldn't sleep anymore," answers Stephanie.

"Are you worried about Tracy and Lawrence?" asks the tall boy.

"Yeah," replies Stephanie, playing with some strands of her long dark brown hair. "I hope they're okay."

"Don't worry," assures Bao. "Tracy knows the _Naruto_ world as well as Caroline. Those two will be fine."

"Yeah, I guess," responds Stephanie. She looks up at the clear blue sky above. "Wonder where they are."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lawrence sighs as he replaces Tracy's forehead protector with his, alternating them so that the girl will continue to receive a constant amount of cool metal to her feverish head. Morning had come and the boy had done a pretty good job keeping his friend's temperature at a safe level as well as defending her from approaching predators. However, lack of sleep has begun to affect him as he wobbles back and forth in his position.

With the sun up and the tower looming before them, Lawrence realizes that he has no other alternative but to carry Tracy the rest of the way. Hopefully they won't run into any trouble, for it would be difficult for him to defend both himself and his friend in the state that he's in right now.

He ties his forehead protector back on and then proceeds to tie Tracy's back on metal side down so the cool metal would keep her forehead at a low temperature. With a grunt, he lays Tracy's body on his back, putting her arms around his neck and supporting her posterior with his hands. Now that she was secured on his back, Lawrence begins his trek towards the tower. It was a long walk and the boy still hasn't learned how to tap into his Chakra yet so the journey was more arduous than he wished it would be. Groaning from the stress on his body, Lawrence forces himself to continue onward, not stopping until they finally reach the tower where hopefully there would be people to help him.

After what seemed like forever, Lawrence finally came within thirty meters of the structure. Exhausted and relieved, the boy made his way towards the building. Suddenly, another huge centipede came between him and his destination. Groaning from the burning pain in his muscles, Lawrence collapses to his knees, still holding Tracy on his back. He was sweating profusely and had used a lot of his strength in carrying the girl from a far distance. He was so close and yet too far. With a sigh, he closes his eyes to prepare for what is the end of the both of them.

Just then, he hears the sound of something solid piercing flesh. He opens his eyes to find the centipede dotted with _kunais_ all over its head. Confused and surprised, Lawrence scans the area and finds himself face to face with a silver-haired masked ninja.

"_Konnichiwa_," greeted the man. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Overjoyed and relieved that help has finally arrived, Lawrence suddenly falls unconscious.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

When Lawrence gained consciousness later, he sat up and looks around. He found himself in a bed of an unknown hospital. In the bed next to him was Tracy, still unconscious. Their wounds had been cared for nicely, most likely due to the doctors here. Though they still had their clothes on, their forehead protectors had been placed at their respective bedside tables so as to not distract their focus on recovering.

"So, you're finally awake."

The boy turns to find that same silver-haired mask ninja leaning on a wall.

"Who are you?" he asks the man.

"The name's Hatake Kakashi," introduces the ninja. "What's yours?"

"I'm Lawrence," replies the boy. He looks over to where his friend is. "And that's Tracy."

"Lawrence and Tracy," repeats Kakashi. "Interesting names."

"Kakashi-_sensei_!"

A blonde spiky-haired boy bursts into the room loudly and annoyingly. Lawrence found this kid irritating with the way he entered.

"Naruto, keep your voice down," orders Kakashi. "This is a hospital."

"_Gomen_, Kakashi-_sensei_," apologizes Naruto. "I wanted to ask you to train me."

"I've got other things to deal with," responds Kakashi. "I don't have time to train you."

"I get it!" exclaims the blonde boy upsettingly. "You're training Sasuke, aren't you?"

"Shhh," hushes Kakashi. "Keep it down."

"You're always training him, Kakashi-_sensei_!" complains Naruto. "What's so special about him?"

"Naruto!"

A pink-haired girl rushes in to give the blond boy a good punch on the head.

"Ow, Sakura-_chan_," exclaims Naruto.

"Keep your voice down!" she hisses at him. "This is a hospital, _baka_!"

"_Gomen-nasai_," apologizes the inconsiderate boy quietly.

Lawrence raises his eyebrow in confusion at the scene before him.

_Who the heck are these people?_ he wonders.

Suddenly, a very familiar voice followed by a full body hug surprises him.

"Lawrence!" exclaims Stephanie.

"Stephanie?" utters Lawrence in surprise.

He looks to see the rest of the group file in through the door to his bed.

"Check _you_ out," spoke up Kevin. "You're more wrapped up than an old candy bar."

"Dude," adds Jon. "What happened to you?"

"Tracy!" Stephanie shrieks upon seeing the person in the next bed.

"What's wrong with Tracy?" asks Priscilla worriedly.

"Your friends are allright," assures Kakashi, walking up to them. "I managed to find them just in time before the _Shi no Mori_ took them asits newest victims."

He stops nervously upon seeing two pairs of eyes gaze in awe at him.

"Uh," utters Kakashi, starting to sweat a bit the more Caroline and Stephanie looked at him. "Is there something the matter?"

"Are you… Hatake Kakashi?" asks Stephanie.

"Uh, yes," replies the man hesitantly.

In an instant, the masked ninja is suddenly captured in the girls' glomp as they hug him with all their might.

"I can't believe I'm touching the actual Hatake Kakashi!" exclaims Caroline with joy.

"Me too!" adds Stephanie.

Kakashi's eyes widen with utter surprise in response the two girls' actions. Never before had he had to deal with something like this.

"I'm thinking I'm quite popular in your world?" he vociferates.

At the sound of that statement, Caroline and Stephanie releases the man and looks up at him.

"You know we're from another world?" asks Jon.

"Yeah," replies Kakashi. "The Fifth filled me in after I brought these two here."

"Another world?" repeats Naruto in confusion. "What are they talking about, Kakashi-_sensei_?"

"Let's go outside, Naruto," suggests Sakura. "I'll fill you in on the details."

"You mean you know about these guys too?" exclaims Naruto. "Why am I always out of the loop?"

"Because you're a stupid _baka_ no one wants to talk to," replies Sakura.

"That hurts," responds the boy sadly.

With the two _genins_ gone, the group of otherworld people stood around the beds of their friends, not knowing what to do now that they've found their missing comrades.

"So what do we do now?" wonders Robert.

"Well, since we don't know how to transport you guys back to your own world, it looks like the nine of you will be here for some time," spoke up Kakashi. "And since we're nothing but what you call an Anime series backing your world, I'm guessing I don't need to fill you in on what's been happening around here."

"Pretty much," agrees Caroline.

"So you should know that Konoha had been recently attacked and now we need as many ninjas as we can get in order to recover from that attack," adds Kakashi.

"If we can get training so we can use our Chakra, we're more than happy to help you guys out," suggests Stephanie.

"Yeah," agrees Jon.

"I guess," adds Kevin. "Since it doesn't look like we have anything else to do."

"Yeah," spoke up Caroline. "Why not?"

"Sure," exclaims Robert.

The rest nods in agreement minus Tracy who was still unconscious.

"In that case," began Kakashi. "I'll assign a teacher to show you guys the basics. You can start your ninja training as soon as your friends fully recover from their injuries."

"Yay!" exclaims Bao with excitement.

As everyone shakes with anticipation of their ninja training around Lawrence, the boy looks over at the unconscious Tracy with a look of worry in his eyes. Even though she assured him that the bruise was nothing to be concerned about, he still felt uneasy about the whole situation.

_Looks like I'll be keeping your promise after all_, he thought.


	6. Let the Training Commence!

**Chapter 6: Let the Training Commence!**

Since their injuries were not too serious, Lawrence and Tracy both manage to fully recover within the week. They decided to rest for a full day after they were released from the hospital before they began their training with the rest of the group. Eagerly, they waited at the training grounds where they were told to meet their ninja academy teacher.

"So, how does the ninja ranking go?" wonders Jon.

"There are about five levels of ranking for the ninjas in the _Naruto_ world," began Tracy. She held up a finger, indicating the number one. "First, there's the Academy Ninjas. These ninjas start going to school when they reach the age of five and graduate after seven years of training. Sort of like the equivalent of an elementary school back home."

"So we're at the elementary level?" asks Robert, feeling a little irritated.

"Does it matter?" responds Jon. "We're all twelve years old so there's no need to feel ashamed."

"But we're being taught at pretty much the kindergarten level," notes Bao. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"A-hem!" interrupts Tracy.

"Sorry," apologizes Robert.

"Anyways," began the _Naruto_ expert. "The next level is _genin_, which is basically an academy graduate. _Genins_ are the lowest level ninjas so they're usually assigned C-rank and D-rank missions, since those are a lot easier for them to handle. The next level after that is _chuunin_, which are assigned the harder B-rank missions with the occasional A-rank missions depending on their abilities. _Genins_ are only promoted to _chuunins_ after passing the Chuunin Exam which is held every six months. Once promoted, _chuunins_ have the potential to become _jounins_, the highest level ninja. These guys are assigned A-rank missions and the ever so dangerous S-rank missions. They're pretty much the equivalent of a very experienced martial artist who has been training since they were toddlers, way out of our league at the current level we're at even if we do become _genins_."

"So _jounins_ are the highest ranked ninjas?" inquires Robert.

"Nope, not exactly," replies Tracy. "After _jounins_, there are the ANBU which are like the SWAT team of the _Naruto_ world. On top of ANBU are the Sannins, which are ninjas that have achieved legendary status. And above all the ninjas is the Kages, the highest-ranked and strongest ninjas around. Each of the five ninja powers, the Countries of Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightening each have their own Kage who presides over them. Since we're in the Country of Fire, the Kage here is referred to Hokage and should be called as such."

"So much information," complains Lawrence. "I don't think I'll be able to absorb all this."

Just then, there was a puff of smoke which not only surprised the kids but also made them nearly jump out of their skins at the suddenness and unexpectedness of the occurrence. When the smoke cleared, standing before them was a man wearing matching blue fitting pants and shirt, topped with a blue doo-rag and a pair of circle-shaped sunglasses.

"Greetings my students!" he declares. "I am Ebisu and I will be your teacher."

"Closet pervert!" Caroline and Tracy both shout out loud at the same time and point at him.

"Gah!" exclaims Ebisu with shock. "Yes, the Fifth told me about your world and how you know about… that… But I'd appreciate it if you all just refer to me as Ebisu-_sensei_. That would be most appropriate."

"Closet pervert," Caroline and Tracy said again, emphasizing each syllable.

Ebisu's eye twitches as he glares at the two girls. This is going to be very uncomfortable, feelingas ifhe's teaching a handful of Narutos.

"Ahem, well then," he clears his throat. "Let us begin the lesson by introducing the concept of Chakra. Chakra is—"

"Already know about it!" interrupts Stephanie.

Ebisu's eye twitches again as the rest of the group nods in agreement.

"Okay then," he says. "Then, I'll tell you the basics of ninja rankings."

"Already know that too!" chirps Tracy.

Again, Ebisu's eye twitches as the group nods again in agreement. Already he was feeling irritated after being interrupted for the first time and now these kids are undermining his knowledge.

"Is there anything you don't know?" he asks them.

"Just start with the ninja basics like Chakra using and how to fight with it," suggests Bao.

"I see," said Ebisu. He looks around to notice a couple of the kids were missing. "I thought there were supposed to be nine of you. How come I only see seven?"

"Oh, our friends Kevin and Priscilla prefer not to partake in such an opportunity," explains Stephanie with a smile.

"Why is that?" wonders the man curiously.

"They're not the physical confrontation type," answers Caroline.

"Is that so?" responds Ebisu. He scratches his head feeling somewhat distraught. "I was hoping to group you all into three nice little ninja teams but since two of you are not here, we're going to have one person left out."

"I don't mind being out of the action," spoke up Caroline. "I'm not the type to go out risking my life. I just want to learn how to use my Chakra, that's all."

"Ah," responds Ebisu. "Perhaps you'll be more suited to being a medical ninja."

"Can we go on with the lesson now?" Tracy blurts out impatiently. "I'm getting bored here."

Ebisu's eye twitches once again. This girl reminds him so much of Naruto, it's irritating.

"Allright then," he declares. "But before we begin, I want all of you to give me your forehead protectors."

"But why?" wonders Stephanie with a puppy pout as she put her hands on her headband. "I've grown attached to mine."

"You all are not certified Konoha ninjas yet," explains Ebisu. "As such, you don't yet deserve these headbands as you are at the Academy level. I'll return them to you once you've completed your training."

With solemn disappointment, each of the kids marches up to the _chuunin_ to turn in their forehead protectors.

"Now first we'll start with Chakra molding," announces Ebisu once he's collected all of their forehead protectors.

The lanky man sat down and puts his hand into a certain hand seal position, motioning the kids to do the same.

"This is the usual position for Chakra molding," began Ebisu. "Though you can still mold Chakra standing up, sitting down is a lot more effective for beginners because you focus more attention on your Chakra molding than trying to stand up."

Through his sunglasses, Ebisu could see the kids eagerly awaiting his next instructions while they sat and had their hands in the proper position. He smiles, feeling a bit powered knowing the kids were following his every move.

"Now," he continues. "This hand seal allows your mind to focus your Chakra more easily, in case you wanted to know. Close your eyes and picture your Chakra flowing through your body. Try to control the flow of the Chakra; make it go faster or slower. This exercise will give you more control of your Chakra as well as relax your body. Do this for fifteen to twenty minutes and you'll be able to tap into your Chakra at will."

The outdoor class went on until the sun started setting. All seven kids were disappointed not to have learned any _jutsus_ at all.

"Don't worry," assures Ebisu. "The real ninja training will come later. Right now you need to learn how to manage and control your Chakra. Once you're able to do that, learning _jutsus_ will be a piece of cake."

Saying goodbye to their teacher, the kids saunter back to their two apartments, the boys in one and the girls in the other. As they walked, Jon and Robert came up to Lawrence who was lost in his own thoughts.

"Hey Lawrence," greets Robert.

"Hey," Lawrence greets back to the brown-skinned Mexican.

"You never really told us what happened to you and Tracy in the Forest of Death," notes Jon.

"Lemme guess," spoke up Robert. "You guys did it."

"No!" Lawrence replies with a disgusted look on his face.

"That bad, eh?" added Jon.

"No! We didn't do anything, I swear," assures Lawrence. "We almost got killed in that damn place."

"How bad could it be?" wonders Robert.

"The animals there are all man-eaters, even the bugs," explains Lawrence. "They were all just huge. Tracy and I had such a hard time trying to stay alive in that hell hole."

"You must have," responds Jon. "I mean, if Kakashi wasn't there, we wouldn't be talking to you guys, would we?"

"Yeah," affirms Lawrence, looking down at the ground. "We got lucky."

"Geez, all that time in the woods together and you didn't even make a move on her," sighs Robert disappointedly. "What a waste."

"Don't you think of anything besides sex?" Lawrence yells at him angrily.

"Lawrence," began Robert. "How long have you known me?"

"True," agrees Jon. "You've been a fruity pervert since the day _I_ met you."

"Exactly," added Robert.

While Robert and Jon spoke to each other, Lawrence glances over at Tracy who was walking with Caroline, Stephanie, and Bao in front of him. He has had a bad feeling ever since the two of them escaped the Forest of Death. She hadn't talked much after the two of them were released from the hospital. Even though she assured him time and time again that there was nothing to be concerned about, he was still uneasy about that bruise on her neck. He wonders if anyone had noticed it. He really wants to tell someone but if he broke his promise, Tracy would never speak to him again. They were still in a bad situation, not knowing if they'll ever return to their home world. The idea that Tracy might run away if he broke his promise filled him with fear, for if the Fifth Hokage and Jiraiya figures out a way for them to get back home, they might end up leaving the girl behind. That was the last thing Lawrence wanted.

He turns his eyes' attention back to the ground before him.

_If I tell someone about that man in the forest and Tracy's bruise, she'll most likely run away and refuse to come back_, he thought. _But if I leave her as she is, something really bad might happen. On the one hand, things will get bad for us if she runs off. On the other hand, things will get bad for her if something happens. What am I supposed to do?_

Lawrence looks up at the evening sky for an answer but ended up with none at all. This is to be a decision that could either benefit his friends or hurt them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, while everyone was asleep in their blankets, a figure stirred in the girls' apartment. The figure carefully maneuvers through the room, making sure not to awaken the sleeping _kunoichis_. Quietly lifting the window board, the figure crawls through the window and carefully places the wooden board back in place. With that done, the figure walks silently along the ridge of the building, only stopping to brush some dark hair out of her face. The figure looks up at the partially full moon, revealing the person as none other than Tracy.

With a thrust of her legs, Tracy silently leaps off the building and lands softly on the ground. She had changed out of her pajamas and into her ninja outfit, complete with the Konoha forehead protector upon her brow. Looking around to see no one, she dashes off in the direction of the nearby watering hole.

Uchiha Sasuke was taking a nice moonlit stroll along the empty roads of Konoha. Passing by the small lake where he had mastered his first fire technique, the raven-haired boy notices an unknown figure standing on the dock. He falls to one knee, trying to be as invisible as possible while still being able to see what the figure was up to. He notices the person had long dark hair and a curved shape, suggesting the figure was female. He tries to inch a little closer and sees the figure is a young girl about his age.

_I've never seen her before_, he thought. _Is she one of those kids who were transported from another world like Kakashi said?_

Sasuke pauses in his thoughts as he watches the girl perform a few hand seals. His eyes widen in shock when he immediately recognizes what the hand seals were.

_Those hand seals!_ he thought. _But how and where did she learn it? Could she even do it?_

As if to answer his question, he sees the girl put her thumb and index finger together in front of her mouth and take a deep breath.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_!" she cries out. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Blowing hard, she manages to exhale a huge sphere of fire almost as big as the one Sasuke had done when he first mastered it.

"What the hell?" he exclaims. "Who is she?"


	7. Unexpected Surprises

**Chapter 7: Unexpected Surprises**

Tracy, Stephanie, Robert, Jon, Caroline, Lawrence, and Bao all gather at the training grounds once again. It has been three days and the group has already gotten the hang of Chakra molding. The seven of them wait anxiously for Ebisu's arrival, for today was the day they would move to the next step in their training. After what seemed like forever, the sunglasses-wearing ninja appears in a puff of smoke and stands before the group with a smile on his face.

"Now," he began. "Are you all ready for the next step in your Ninja Academy training?"

"No duh," exclaims Tracy who was already bored.

Ebisu growls in irritation as his eye twitched involuntarily.

"Allright then," he says, trying to maintain his composure. "Let us head on over to the forest."

The group follows their teacher out of the village and into the wilderness beyond the village gates. When they have gone deep enough, Ebisu stops the children in a sizable clearing.

"What are we doing here?" wonders Jon out loud.

"You guys…" began Ebisu, a gleam running over his sunglasses. "Are going to climb these trees."

Six pairs of eyes stare at the _chuunin_-level ninja in response, minus Tracy who seemed to be staring off into space.

"Climb trees?" exclaims Bao. "How are we going to do that? Grow claws and scurry up like squirrels?"

"Nope," replies Ebisu, adjusting his sunglasses. "You're all going to climb the trees by simply walking up the trunks."

Again, he was shot with surprised stares from the same six children.

"Let me explain," he began. "Your first lesson was to control your own Chakra. This exercise accentuates that."

"Meh?" Robert blurts out, confused.

"First, gather up Chakra on the sole of your feet," instructs Ebisu. "Then use the Chakra to attach your feet to the trunk of the trees. The purpose of this exercise is to train you to keep a constant amount of Chakra in a concentrated spot. It's a lot easier than it sounds. The hard part is knowing how much Chakra to use and focusing that Chakra onto your feet."

With worried sighs, the group set to work with each person picking out their own tree and following the instructions the ninja gave them. As Ebisu watches the children, he notices one of them was nowhere to be found. He scans the area at ground level before looking up into the trees and finding one of the girls sitting up on a very high branch nonchalantly. He glares tensely at the girl, instantly recognizing who she was.

_That Tracy girl_, he thought. _She's managed to master the exercise in less than a minute. She's no Naruto; she's got more of a Sasuke personality. This might be troublesome for me if the other kids start feeling inferior to her. Perhaps I should talk to Kakashi-senpai about this_.

As he watches over the other children, Ebisu makes sure to keep an eye on Tracy. Though she's not doing anything besides climbing up to the top of the tree and back down to the same branch with ease, Ebisu wants to make sure she doesn't go off and do anything on her own.

By the end of the day, only Robert, Stephanie, and Bao have gotten the hang of the tree-climbing exercise mainly due to their martial arts experience back in their world. Caroline, Jon, and Lawrence on the other hand have managed to get up about a third of the height of their trees but not much further since they had little to no martial arts experience back in their world. Feeling confident, the three of them hope to master the tree-climbing exercise along with the others tomorrow.

As the group walks back to their apartments, Lawrence looks over at Tracy again. She was walking and talking to Stephanie, Bao, and Caroline once again, but something feels amiss. It wasn't the bruise on her shoulder, but something else; whatever it was, it filled him with worry.

That night, the group had dinner with Naruto in one apartment along with Priscilla and Kevin. They all had instant noodles and spoke of each other's personalities and life events.

"Yep," said Naruto. "Sakura-_chan_, Sasuke, and I still don't know what's behind Kakashi's mask."

"I'm sure he's totally hot behind that mask," swoons Stephanie.

"Same here," adds Caroline as well.

"I'm sure Kakashi doesn't look _that_ great," spoke up Bao, crossing his arms.

The two girls shoot glares at the tall boy, who instantly cowers in fear.

"Kakashi's the one with the eye covered, right?" asks Robert.

"Yes," answers Tracy.

"I'm lost here," says Priscilla, feeling quite awkward.

"You're not the only one," assures Kevin, feeling equally awkward.

"Yep," adds Lawrence.

Jon simply slurps up his noodles as he listens in on his friends.

-----

After dinner, everyone decides to show Naruto some of the party games they played back in their world. Among them was the ever-so-popular charades which aroused roars of laughter throughout the apartment. Not wanting to participate in the festivities, Lawrence decides to go to one of many groves of trees scattered throughout Konoha. There he practices the tree-climbing exercise, hoping to at least get an idea of how to do it adequately. He manages to get up into the leaves of the tree before a couple of small flexible branches slap onto his head, sending him falling onto the ground on his back. Growling in frustration, Lawrence gets up and goes up the tree again, determined to at least get halfway up the tree or maybe even two-thirds of the tree's height.

As he went into the leaves portion of the tree, the clumped branches slap into his face. When it was too much for him to handle, he loses focus of his Chakra and falls to the ground on his back once again. Groaning in pain, Lawrence looks up at the tree to find his vision of the plant blurry. Sighing in exasperation, he gets up to walk to the watering hole nearby to wash his face. Taking off his glasses, Lawrence cups some water into his hands and splashes it onto his face. Wiping the wetness off his face with shirt-dried hands, he suddenly realizes his vision has gotten drastically better. In fact, it was as if he had regained his 20/20 vision again.

"What the hell?" he wonders as he casually looks into the water at his shuddering reflection.

His eyes open wide in shock as soon as the water became still again. He rubs his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things and stares back at his reflection again. Sure enough, the reflection showed the irises of his eyes as bright red instead of the usual brown he's always had. Around his still black pupils were thin black outlines of circles and on those circles were two black dots on each eye. Upon closer examination, the dots had little tails on them, making them look like the yin half of the yin-yang symbol without the white dot.

"What the fuck is this?" he exclaims in surprise at the sight of his demonic-looking eyes. "How am I supposed to change my eyes back?"

Almost as soon as the thought of wanting his eyes back pops into his head, Lawrence's vision became poor again as his new eyes fade back to his regular normal eyes. Still in shock at his unexpected change, Lawrence cleans up his glasses and puts them back on, returning his vision to normal.

"That was weird," he says out loud, standing up and walking back to the apartment.

On his way back, he sees a boy walking towards him. The boy had a Konoha forehead protector on, indicating his status as a certified ninja of the village. Hanging over the headband was the boy's raven-colored bangs that extended down to his chin. The unknown ninja's outfit consisted of a blue shirt and white shorts that went below his knees. On his arms were white sleeves with blue bands on the top and bottom of the sleeves. He also sported the same weird shoes that pretty much everyone in the village wore.

As the two of them came closer, Lawrence could clearly see the boy's solemn black eyes that seem to possess the ability to look deep into a person's soul. As the boy walks past Lawrence, the boy stops and spoke up.

"You there," he says.

Lawrence stops in response to see what the boy had to say to him.

"You're one of those kids from another world, right?" asks the boy.

"Yeah," answers Lawrence. He turns to look at the boy, who didn't make a move as he shows his back to him. "Who are you?"

"You shouldn't ask for someone's name before you introduce yourself," said the boy.

Lawrence stiffens at the boy's response. Apparently social etiquette is a lot different here than back home.

"Lawrence," he introduces himself. "And you're…?"

"Sasuke," responds the boy. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Sasuke, huh?" repeats Lawrence. "You're that guy that my Anime fanatic friends talk about a lot."

"Do they?" wonders Sasuke. Then he quickly changes the subject. "Who's the girl with the white hooded t-shirt?"

"She's a close friend of mine," replies Lawrence, feeling a little heated up. "Her name's Tracy."

"Tracy," repeated Sasuke. "So that's her name."

"Why do you ask?" wonders Lawrence.

"No reason," answers Sasuke. "Just curious, that's all."

With that, the Uchiha boy walks off as Lawrence continues his way to the apartment.

"What was that all about?" he wonders.


End file.
